What Is Faith?

Saving faith is more than agreeing that certain things are true, though it includes that. Theologians distinguish three things faith involves: knowledge (knowing the Gospel—who Christ is and what he did), assent (holding it to be true), and trust (personally relying on Christ for your salvation). The devil himself has the first two—he knows the facts and believes them accurately—yet has no saving faith, because he does not trust Christ as his Savior. The heart of faith is that third thing: not just “this is true” but “this is true for me, and I rest my whole weight on it.”

So faith is best pictured not as a leap or an achievement but as receiving. Abraham is the model: “He was fully convinced that what God promised he was also able to do” (Romans 4:21, NET), he simply trusted the promise. Faith does not create or contribute anything; it is the empty hand that takes hold of the gift Christ offers. This is why we are saved “through faith”—faith is the instrument that receives salvation, not a good work that earns it.

Two things follow, both comforting. First, faith is God’s gift, not our accomplishment. “For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8, NET). You do not manufacture faith by trying hard; the Holy Spirit creates it through the Word—“consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ” (Romans 10:17, NET). Even your believing is grace.

Second, this means the strength of your faith is not what saves you—its object is. A trembling hand and a steady hand can both hold the same rope; what holds you up is the rope, not the firmness of your grip. Weak faith that clings to a strong Christ is saving faith. So do not stare anxiously at your faith to measure it. Look to Christ, and let the Word keep putting faith in your hands.